Chapter 166 - Contract Wife Morning, My Darling CEO

Third Person POV

Cosmos sighed at her stupidity, wondering if she hadn't seen Chad’s face darken when he heard her words.

In recent times, rumours of Chad’s new love had been flying around. So how could she say such words, especially at this moment with their daughter’s life hanging in the balance?

Cosmos hurriedly shoved Jennifer behind his back, stood between her and Chad and tried to change the subject.

“Mr. West, I’m sure you must be tired from your journey. Let’s have some tea first, the doctors are all ready,”.

Chad's gaze shifted from their faces and finally settled on Jennifer.

“Mrs. Patel, in the future, please address me as you would your husband,”.

Jennifer had heard some gossip recently and she didn’t want to believe it, despite how true it had seemed. Now, with the kind of attitude Chad was giving her, she couldn’t help but doubt.

“Chad, what do you mean? Don’t you want to marry Jada again? Now that you’ve found a suitable heart for her, a happy future awaits you both,”.

Chad fixed his gaze on the middle-aged woman, as he said firmly.

“Please can everyone take a seat. Since this matter has been raised, I think it’s best to talk about it once and for all,”.

Chad waited for everyone to be settled before he continued.

“Jada and I will not be getting married. This heart I finally found for her will serve as my compensation. Of course, I will treat her like a sister in the future and will always support her whenever she needs my help. But that is how it’ll be moving forward,”.

Jennifer suddenly stood up, her usually composed face was contorted in confusion.

“What do you mean?” Her voice went a notch higher “You promised to marry our Jada from the beginning. You didn't abandon her when she was ill. And now, when there's hope for her recovery, do you want to break it off? Do you know how much she wishes to marry you? Do you even deserve her?”

Cosmos hurriedly tried to restrain her, shocked that she would dare to speak to Chad in such a presumptuous manner.

“Stop it, Jenny,” Cosmos tried to calm her down. “This is neither the time nor place for this argument,”.

“Why not?” Jennifer fumed as she broke free from his grasp and went directly to Chad.

At that moment, she was no longer afraid of his authority. She was just an ordinary mother who was fighting hard for her daughter’s happiness.

“Jenny,” Cosmos tried to intervene again.

“How can you be so heartless, Chad?” Jennifer continued, fuming. “Jada has been waiting for you for so many years. Are you going to abandon her now? Will all her waiting be in vain?”

Chad stared at Jada’s fuming mom. Her eyes were red and she was throwing condescending looks at him. His face was blank, devoid of any emotion as he replied to her. He looked down at the middle-aged woman with red-rimmed eyes, his face devoid of any emotion, and a trace of irony in his voice.

“Mrs Patel, you seem to have forgotten one thing,” his voice had a trace of irony in it. “My grandmother had strongly opposed to our union and I made it crystal clear that we cannot be together. I even agreed that she could find someone else, and get married. Despite everything, I felt responsible for her illness. You decided to hide it from her and make her wait for me. Remember?”

Jennifer’s eyes widened as she recalled what he was talking about. Immediately, guilt filled her eyes and she lowered her head in shame.

What Chad had said was true.

Initially, when he wanted to marry Jada, their family was naturally willing and extremely happy to give their daughter out. However, they didn’t expect that Catherine West was going to go against the union.

Her excuse had been Jada’s heart disease. She had plainly said that she wouldn’t be able to have children and, as such, it would cause problems, since producing an heir was important. Chad, in the beginning, had insisted that he would marry her, but after continuous opposition from his grandmother, he gave in and said he wouldn’t marry her again.

During those times, despite Chad not loving Jada so much, he had gone to great lengths to convince them that he loved her deeply and had clashed several times with his grandmother.

He had used delaying tactics, claiming he would wait until Jada recovered and then persuade his grandmother. They couldn't let Jada know for fear it would worsen her condition.

More so, what he said was true. According to the conditions set by the West family, they could have found an excellent woman for him but he still agreed to the pact and had kept to his promise of taking care of Jada all this while and also her family.

Jennifer couldn't help but feel guilty as these memories resurfaced, and she bowed her head. Cosmos hastily tried to pull her back, he had an awkward expression on his face.

“Chad, please forgive her. She's just emotional. My family has and will always be grateful to you, and I'm also grateful too,”.

Chad remained expressionless, neither forgiving nor condemning the peacekeeping attempt.

“Thank God a suitable heart has been found. I’m going to let Jada know the truth after the surgery. Do you have any objections?”

By ‘the truth,’ he meant revealing the nature of their relationship. Jennifer couldn't bear the thought of her daughter's radiant face every time she mentioned Chad.

“Cha... Chad,” Jennifer stuttered, “Can we delay the confession for a while? I'm afraid Jada won't be able to handle it."

He gave her a faint, probing look.

“How much longer should we postpone it?”

His tone was gentle, but there was no anger, which made Jennifer feel furious. When she remembered the smile on Jada’s face whenever she talked about Chad, she felt courageous and firmly stated.

“At the very least, wait until she's fully healed and has had some time to recover. She loves you deeply, and if you tell her you can't marry her, it would devastate her.”.

A loud bang interrupted the conversation as the closed door swung open, revealing Jada with tears in her eyes. She stared at them in disbelief, her eyes filled with anguish.

“Mom, did you just say that Jiuchen won't marry me?”

Jennifer, seeing her daughter's pale face and trembling shoulders, felt an overwhelming surge of sympathy.

“My dear, why did you come out? You need to go get your examination and prepare for the surgery,”.

Jennifer crossed the room to help her but Jada pushed her away.

“I won’t be going through any surgery unless you tell me the truth,”.

Jennifer's eyes welled up with tears, and she didn't know how to respond, so she lowered her head in shame.

Chad walked over and looked down at the frail woman, a head shorter than him.

The look in his eyes was filled with complications and pity.

“There’s no need to hide anything, since I’m sure you’ve heard. For the most part, I’m sorry, Jada, but I can’t marry you,”.

His words felt like a hammer to her heart.

Jada’s shoulders trembled as she reached for Chad’s hands, hoping that this was all a dream. She shook her head as if to clear her senses as her voice choked.

“I don’t believe it, Chad,” she cried. “You love me so much,”.

Chad frowned slightly as something flickered in his eyes.

Gently, he brushed her tear-dampened hair behind her ear. At that moment, Jada felt a familiar tenderness that transported her back to their past. Despite his always morose expression, Chad, there had always been a certain warmth in his heart. She had convinced herself that he loved her because of this warmth, and it had sustained her hope.

“Chad…”

She wanted to hold his hand but he quickly withdrew it just as their fingers were about to touch.

“Jada, I've always carried a deep sense of gratitude towards you in my heart, and I genuinely wanted to marry you,”.

“Then what happened?” Jada cried as tears rolled down her cheeks.

“I fell in love… this time I am sure and it’s not because of some sense of gratitude,” Chad said quietly.

“Please, no,” Jada wailed.

“Before I met her, I thought you and I were the most perfect couple in the whole world, but deep down, Jada, you and I both know that our feelings aren't as simple as that,”.

Jada shook her head, tears streaming down her face.

“No, no, there is love between us. Chad, don’t say this, don't say this, I won't believe it,”.

She buried her face in her hands, unable to contain the pain she felt in her heart.

Jennifer was heartbroken, and she stepped forward to comfort her daughter, trying to wrap her in a warm embrace.

“My dear” Jennifer whispered, “We are blessed to have you. You’re still young and you don’t understand men. Men can change their minds. Let’s give Chad some time to think things over,”.

Her words meant something her eyes secretly eyed Chad… trying to coddle him into playing along.